Does Nikon’s 1.5x APS-C crop factor mean its sensor is meaningfully closer to full frame than Canon’s 1.6x?

Asked 11/30/2010

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Nikon APS-C cameras are usually described as having a 1.5x crop factor, while Canon APS-C is often 1.6x. Does that mean Nikon’s sensor is actually larger and therefore closer to full frame, with noticeable benefits in image quality or field of view? Should this difference matter when choosing between Canon and Nikon crop-sensor cameras?

nikon canon crop-factor sensor-size aps-c

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

15y ago

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To add a bit more info about sensor sizes

alt text

Originally by user938. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user938

15y ago

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Yes, Nikon APS-C sensors are typically a little larger than Canon APS-C sensors, so the 1.5x crop factor is slightly closer to full frame than Canon’s 1.6x. But the difference is very small.

Typical sizes are about 22.2×14.8mm for Canon APS-C and roughly 23.1–23.7×15.4–15.8mm for Nikon APS-C. That works out to only about 14% more sensor area at most. For comparison, a one-stop improvement would require about double the sensor area, so this gap is minor.

In practice, that means:

Nikon gives a slightly wider field of view with the same lens.
Canon gives a slightly tighter framing with the same lens.
Any image-quality advantage from sensor size alone is small enough to be overshadowed by other factors.

So yes, Nikon APS-C is technically a bit larger, but it’s not a meaningful reason by itself to choose one system over the other.

Does Nikon’s 1.5x APS-C crop factor mean its sensor is meaningfully closer to full frame than Canon’s 1.6x?

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